[toggle title_open=”Car specifications” title_closed=”Car specifications” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Prices: ST $29,990, Ti $34,490
Engine: 1.8-litre 96kW/174Nm petrol
Transmission: Six-speed CVT automatic
Fuel economy: 6.7 litres/100km
Emissions: 160gr/km
Equipment: Includes Bluetooth wireless
Safety: No crash test yet
Factory warranty: 3-year/100,000km[/toggle]
The Pulsar badge replaces the Tiida and returns to New Zealand after an absence of seven years. The sedan enters a segment of the market dominated by hatchbacks and their luggage-carrying versatility. But a whopping 510-litre boot in the Pulsar – bigger than that of the Holden Commodore, for example – could help it eat into hatchback sales. That’s the good news. The not-so-good is that the class-leading load space could have been cavernous had Nissan allowed the rear seat backs to fold forward. Nevertheless, there’s a lot to like about the Pulsar, especially on the inside. The cabin layout is simple and spacious; the dashboard and its instrument pack is well laid out; all the major switchgear falls quickly to hand. On the road the Pulsar is a mixed bag. Town and around, on streets and motorways, it’s comfortable and quiet, the steering nicely weighted, the twin-stage automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) using its spread of ratios to pull away under a light throttle without the high-revving characteristics of some CVT units. But the car is not as composed under heavy throttle on a winding country road. The engine noise booms out as the CVT searches for a gear to match revs, and the steering loses its accuracy as the suspension struggles to reign in a soft front end that wants to run wide, or understeer.
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Good features
Roomy interior, clear instruments, quiet and smooth at cruising speeds.
Not so good
Average handling, not as well equipped as some rivals.
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[box type=”tick” size=”large” style=”rounded”]Rating 7/10[/box]